Apply now for MetroWest Health Foundation Grants (Massachusetts)

The foundation is pleased to solicit proposals from eligible nonprofit and government organizations to improve the health status of the community, its individuals and families through informed and innovative leadership.

Donor Name: MetroWest Health Foundation

State: Massachusetts

City: Selected Cities

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 10/19/2023

Size of the Grant: 

• Girls’ Mental Health: Up to $30,000
• Improving Health Equity: $25,000
• Health and Housing Stability: $25,000
• Responsive: $20,000

Grant Duration: 1 year

Details: 

The foundation serves the following communities: Ashland, Bellingham, Dover, Framingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, Northborough, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley and Westborough

Priority Areas

• Girls‘ Mental Health
  • The foundation’s grants for girls’ mental health are designed to promote healthy lifestyles and environments that enable girls to manage stress, anxiety and depression.
  • Activities and Outcomes
    • The foundation is seeking grant proposals from schools, municipalities and community based agencies that promote healthy lifestyles and environments that enable girls to manage stress, anxiety and depression. These could include responsible social media use/social media literacy; self-efficacy skills development; healthy habits, such as sleep, nutrition and exercise; and cyberbullying prevention and peer support enhancement.
  • Funding Information
    • Funding Schools and youth-serving agencies are eligible to apply for up to $30,000 for one year.
• Improving Health Equity
  • The foundation will support initiatives focused on decreasing health disparities in the following areas: maternal health outcomes; access to primary and specialty care; vaccine equity and MassHealth redetermination.
  • Activities and Outcomes
    • The foundation is seeking grant proposals from organizations that address health inequities in one of the following areas:
      • Maternal health outcomes
        • Requests can include but are not limited to programs that provide support to women/birthing people while pregnant and in the first year after giving birth; training for professionals who support women/birthing people while pregnant and in the first year after giving birth; education campaigns designed to raise community awareness.
      • Access to primary and specialty care
        • Requests can include but are not limited to projects that reduce transportation barriers, linguistic barriers and improve care coordination.
      • Vaccine Equity
        • Requests can include activities such as outreach, education, or vaccine clinics that increase access to all recommended vaccines for children and adults.
      • MassHealth Redetermination
        • Requests can include but are not limited to projects that increase awareness in the community about the redetermination process; reduce linguistic barriers; and train staff/volunteers to assist with re-enrollment or enrollment in alternate insurance programs when appropriate.
  • Funding Information
    • The maximum grant amount is $25,000 for one year.
• Health and Housing Stability
  • The foundation will suppport initiatives that seek to decrease housing security and increase support services to older adults, families with children, and newly arrived immigrants.
  • Activities and Outcomes
    • The foundation is seeking grant proposals to address one of the following objectives:
      • Decrease housing insecurity among older adults: Requests can include but are not limited to projects that provide support services to help older adults stay in their homes.
      • Increase support services to families with children and newly arrived immigrant populations residing in temporary housing in the MetroWest region: Requests can include but are not limited to projects that provide increased access to primary and behavioral health care services and help in meeting basic needs.
  • Funding Information
    • The maximum grant amount is $25,000 for one year.
• Responsive
  • The foundation will provide short-term funding for projects that specifically address one of the top issues identified through the 2023 Community Health Assessment.
  • Activities and Outcomes
    • Because responsive grants are short term, the foundation encourages submission of applications for which ongoing support and sustainability are not required. In this round of funding, the foundation will provide grants that specifically address one of the top issues identified through the 2023 Community Health Assessment. These are as follows:
      • Mental Health: offering short-term mental health interventions that seek to expand access to care for youth and/or adults; offering mental health awareness training and education; and/or implementing technology-based solutions.
      • Substance Use: implementing evidence-based prevention programs and curricula; launching stigma reduction efforts; expanding use of peer specialists; and/or offering social supports for youth in recovery.
      • Food Security: increasing access to fresh, healthy foods, including projects that aim to decrease the SNAP and WIC gaps; offering nutrition education; and/or increasing access to culturally relevant foods.
      • Built and Natural Environment: creating community spaces and programs that aim to improve health through decreasing social isolation and building and strengthening social connections within communities.
  • Funding Information
    • The maximum grant amount is $20,000 for one year.

General Restrictions

• The foundation supports programs that directly benefit the health of those who live and work in one of the 25 communities served by the foundation. Such support is limited to organizations that qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS Code, or organizations that are recognized as instrumentalities of state or local government.
• The foundation does not provide grants to individuals, nor does it provide funds for endowments, fundraising drives and events, retirement of debt, operating deficits, projects that directly influence legislation, political activities or candidates for public office or programs that are customarily operated by hospitals in Massachusetts.
• The foundation does not award grants to organizations that discriminate in the provision of services on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation or veteran status.

For more information, visit MetroWest Health Foundation.